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VCS-class Heavy Cruiser / Orsan-pattern
The Orsan-pattern Heavy Cruiser was a heavy capital ship employed by the late Covenant Navy. While functioning similarly to the Varric-pattern heavy Cruiser, the Orsan was larger and did not require forerunner artifacts to function, a keystone which made the Varric a terrifying opponent and also a great risk to its crew who needed to carefully manage its forerunner components or risk devastating damage or complete loss of the ship. Contrarily the Orsan-pattern Heavy Cruiser was a tank of sieging power and highly durable. Based on the Covenant Ship Classification System the Orsan-pattern was organized as a VCS-class warship. Designed originally to put competent heavy cruisers into the fleets without the fragility of the Varric along with the necessity for certain rare forerunner machinations the Orsan would measure a full kilometer longer, pack a similar punch, and still be cheaper to manufacture while not risking the crew who manned her. Class History & Role Designed to supplement the Varric's duties without the the downfalls the Orsan was developed amidst the Human-Covenant War and was presented by the Sangheili to the Hierarchs to show the will and feverish power behind the Sangheili's vengeance towards all who opposed the Covenant. Many Orsan-pattern Heavy Cruisers were seized by the Jiralhanae during the Great Schism, Sangheili shipmasters fighting against the Covenant loyalist had a phrase which roughly translated to giving a small child a work of art while sending him to play in the swamp. Most if not all of the Orsan-pattern Heavy Cruisers fielded by the Jiralhanae were lost due to the lack of experience and tactility the Sangheili designed them to necessitate, largely to make capture of the vessel by Humanity difficult. Role Operating as a siege platform for colonial bombardment the Orsan could lead strike groups, medium sized fleets, or complement an Assault Carrier lead fleet to blockade the planet and open up enemy defenses for a CAS to break through. Capable of bisecting enemy ships bow to stern the Orsan could easily lead a devastating campaign against enemy world defenses, warships of similar tonnage, and provide atmospheric support, excavation, and invasion forces to the battle. Post-War Following the end of the Human-Covenant War and the subsiding of the Sangheili-Jiralhanae Conflict the remaining Orsan-pattern Heavy Cruisers began to replace the CAS-Assault Carrier as the behemoth capital ship. Similarly to the CAS's success as a carrier while boasting an impressive armament the Orsan as a heavy cruiser / battlecruiser with an impressive complement made it versatile and intimidating enemy vessel. While rare, they are more abundant than the CAS and almost equally imposing. The Swords of Sanghelios possess at least four of the remaining VCS-class Heavy Cruisers while the Outer Planet Alliance intelligence branch utilizes one as its mobile headquarters. Specifications Measuring 4km in length, 1km wide, and 800m in height the Orsan rivaled the Varric-pattern heavy cruiser and approached the magnitude of the CAS-Assault Carrier. Its large aft ventral section acted as a massive control center for invasion parties. A large gravity lift and massive hanger bay could be found in this same section. The large mountainous mid section housed the ships control room, beneath which was housing section for the Orsan's Infernus-pattern super-heavy excavation beam. The forward section of the ship, a long tubular and hooked module, acted as the primary weapons conduit were plasma torpedoes and cannon batteries were housed. Propulsion Relying on large deuterium-tritium pinch fusion reactors housed in cavernous chambers located in the aft section to power the ships vital systems the Orsan also utilized repulsor engines for vacuum and atmospheric mobility. As a siege craft non-reactive gravity drives supported hovering operations during glassing operations and blockading enemy worlds from orbit. Propelled by three main engine modules; the central, port, and starboard, the Orsan was incredibly maneuverable and notably much faster than like-tonnage vessels. Advanced slip-space drives allowed for near instant and pinpoint jumps within atmosphere which enhanced the ships maneuverability. Crew and Complement Equipped with the aforementioned massive logistics control center for invasion forces the Orsan-pattern Heavy Cruiser is capable of delivering legions of forces into the battle via its large gravity lift or via dropships stored in its hangers. An Orsan typically carries 20,000 troops ready for deployment and at least one hundred Superiors. Ferrying at least 200 Phantom and Spirit dropships, several hundred Banshee atmospheric and exo-atmospheric fighters, multiple squadrons of Seraphs, and siege work vehicles such as Wraiths, Spectres, Revenants, Ghosts, and Locust. Armament Akin to its role within the Covenant Navy the Orsan-pattern Heavy Cruiser fields seven total energy projectors. Its mid-section ventral Infernus excavation beam, a forward ventral Super Heavy plasma lance, a forward nose mounted super heavy plasma lance, a dorsal mid-section housed heavy plasma beam emitter, an aft dorsal heavy plasma beam emitter, and two aft port and starboard nacelle mounted plasma beam emitters. The ship is also equipped with plasma cannon weapons to include forty melusean-pattern plasma cannons, eighteen Mictix-pattern heavy plasma torpedo silos, and five hundred pulse laser turrets. Operational History Developed amidst the Human-Covenant war the Orsan-pattern heavy cruiser was being fielded by the late 2530's with several dozen active throughout the remainder of the war, production falling off abruptly at the eruption of the Covenant Schism. Known Orsan-pattern Heavy Cruisers Category:Cruiser classes Category:Covenant ships